Dear Editor,

In a conversation with a friend, who supports Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, she pointed out that Donald Trump has had more executive orders stopped than any other president. She sees judicial pushback when it concerns his actions as overreach, a stance I find troubling. To me, it echoes a disturbing trend toward unchecked authority, one I’ve also noticed locally in Nederland. 

For example, Trustee Sterling, upon assuming a position of authority, guaranteed that as a board member, there would be board action on Teens Inc childcare proposal at the old town shop site, even, as she said, “if we have to lock ourselves into a room”. The old town shop site has been rejected for several types of development over the last twenty years, but last year voters approved a preschool for the lot. Granted, the Ballot was written in a confusing manner, with many thinking they were voting Yes to expand the currently underutilized Teens Inc Barker location to include childcare (They now have two $1 per year for 99 year leases on prime real estate owned by town). Some thought they voted to put a reasonably sized building at the old shop site. 

Stephen LeFaivre, executive director of Teens, Inc., at a recent meeting misquoted the contaminant reports for 750 5th St., again.  And, throughout the process, he’s never been able to produce or cite the actual linear foot count for length, height and width of the proposed building. 

Teens, Inc. affirmations of a collaborative approach have proven to be empty words. The more the neighbors call for a building in scale with the neighborhood and the preservation and enhancement of a wetland corridor, the larger the building has gotten. Now the proposal is for 8600 sf. footprint, about the size of the Teen Center, almost three times the square footage for the footprint originally introduced, which was for 3500 sf. A woman at the state early childhood education office asked if the building would include a recreation center, it is so far over the square footage needed to accommodate size requirements for the projected number of children. All while the massive Wild Bear early education center is taking shape just up the road, the result of decades of planning and partnership.

A creekside trail that was approved as part of the SPR hearing has shrunk to almost nothing, as Teens have now decided to park cars and have a roadway where the corridor was to be preserved. Yes, there might be a couple of feet of trail. Why complain when there is a crumb on the table?

Local officials have decided to go boldly, to not deign to respond in any way to resident concerns when they are not in lock step with the “Golden Opportunity,” whatever it turns out to be, to throw planning priorities such as riparian corridor preservation and enhancement out the window. All while touting their “collaborative approach.” Why has another SRU not been held reflecting these major increased footprint and site changes as would occur for any other Town builder?

This lack of dialogue mirrors a national trend: authority figures—whether issuing executive orders or local edicts—acting as if they’re above challenge. Growth in Nederland has been held in check for decades by residents and caring citizens' efforts to focus on preserving our quality of life. However, board members now suffer comments as though they were feudal lords, listening, nodding, ignoring. The goal was and is to keep preschool children in town, so that our public schools will stay open, despite statewide trends to close down smaller schools - nothing more.

No one’s perfect—not institutions, boards, or individuals. Nederland’s process is far from it. Lately, bullying has replaced negotiation. Teens, Inc. is steamrolling the neighborhood, while the board, meant to represent the whole town, shrugs and cheers them on with a collective “Do whatever you want!” Those downstream might want to scrutinize the drainage plan—three-quarters of an acre of building, parking, and playgrounds, with runoff dumped straight back into the ground. 

The judiciary checks executive overreach for a reason. Here in Nederland, who’s checking ours? Teens, Inc. $5 million per year budget would swallow any effort by locals to challenge in court.

Mary Jarril

Nederland